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China Presses Sudan Over Darfur

BEIJING (Reuters) — President Hu Jintao has called on Sudan’s government to take steps toward peace in its Darfur region, state media said Thursday.

His comments Wednesday to Sudan’s visiting vice president, Ali Osman Taha, were unusually strong given China’s close ties to Sudan, where it is a major investor in the oil industry and to whom it sells arms. That relationship, though, has prompted calls for it to press Sudan hard over Darfur.

The Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily quoted Mr. Hu as saying Sudan “should push forward the peacekeeping mission and political process in a balanced manner.”

Sudan’s government should also press “the relevant parties to realize a comprehensive cease-fire and to continually improve the humanitarian and security situation, and on this basis help the people of Darfur to rebuild their homeland,” he said.

Mr. Hu’s tone differed from that of Vice President Xi Jinping, who told Mr. Taha on Tuesday that China appreciated the “unremitting efforts” Sudan had made in trying to end the Darfur crisis.